Samsung Connect Home is a mesh Wi-Fi router that can also be a SmartThings Hub

Apart from the Galaxy S8 and S8+, Samsung also announced its first mesh Wi-Fi router: Samsung Connect Home. However, we’re talking about Samsung here, which is known to push the boundaries. Samsung Connect Home can also act as a SmartThings Hub, so buyers can use it to control SmartThings-compatible IoT products.

The Connect Home is a small puck that can replace your big and unwieldy Wi-Fi router. Since it’s a mesh Wi-Fi router, you can add more modules as and when necessary and place them in spots where the Wi-Fi signal isn’t strong. Multiple Connect Home modules (each offering an Ethernet in and an Ethernet out ports) work together to create a mesh, which offers a superior and more stable Wi-Fi signal everywhere in your home.

Samsung’s new mesh Wi-Fi router can also act as a SmartThings Hub, so you can control hundreds of smart IoT and connected home products that are compatible with Samsung’s IoT platform. This includes Amazon Echo speakers, Bose speakers, Google Home, Leviton products, Philips Hue platform, sensors from Halo Smart Labs, dozens of Samsung products, and more.

At the press conference today, the South Korean electronics giant showcased how you can use your Galaxy smartphone to see what’s inside your compatible Samsung refrigerator when you’re at a grocery store without a shopping list. In an ideal environment, the company wants you to be able to control all your connected home products through your smartphone and the Connect Home.

The company is selling two variants of Connect Home routers. The normal variant has 2×2 MU-MIMO antenna array, a slower processor, and its maximum theoretical speed is 866Mbps. The Pro variant has 4×4 antenna, a faster processor, and a maximum speed of 1.7Gbps. Both routers also feature Bluetooth 4.1 wireless connectivity in addition to Wi-Fi.

Samsung claims that each individual Connect Home unit can cover an area of up to 1500 square feet, and consumers can buy them individually or in a pack of three. The Pro variant of the Connect Home isn’t being offered in a pack of three right now. Pricing and availability details are scarce, but we will report back as soon as any such information arises.